Annual Biodiversity Monitoring Report 2014/15 Monitoring Change in Priority Habitats, Priority Species and Designated Areas (including breakdown by district) For Local Plan Annual Monitoring Reports _________________________________________ Produced by Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre December 2015 1 Contents 1 Biodiversity Monitoring in Hampshire .................................................................................. 2 2 Priority habitats ................................................................................................................... 5 3 Nature Conservation Designations .................................................................................... 10 4 Priority habitats within Designated Sites ............................................................................ 11 5 Condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) ..................................................... 12 6 SINC changes observed and recorded .............................................................................. 14 7. SINCs in Positive Management (SD 160) - Not reported on for 2014-15 .......................... 15 8 Changes in Notable Species Status over the period 2004-2014 ........................................ 16 9 Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council ......................................................................... 24 15 Havant Borough Council ................................................................................................. 30 Note: This report only includes the detailed chapters for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Havant Borough Council at the request of those Councils. Sharing information about Hampshire's wildlife The Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre Partnership includes local authorities, government agencies, wildlife charities and biological recording groups. 2 1 Biodiversity Monitoring in Hampshire 1.1 Background The Localism Act 2011 requires every local authority to produce their Authority's Monitoring Report containing information on a number of topics including: the implementation of the Local Development Scheme the progress and effectiveness of the Local Plan, and the extent to which the planning policies set out in the Local Plan documents are being achieved – which can include policies covering biodiversity/nature conservation This is important to enable communities and interested parties to be aware of progress. In addition, the National Planning Policy Framework (Section 117) states that: To minimise impacts on biodiversity and geodiversity, planning policies should: plan for biodiversity at a landscape-scale across local authority boundaries; identify and map components of the local ecological networks, including the hierarchy of international, national and locally designated sites of importance for biodiversity, wildlife corridors and stepping stones that connect them and areas identified by local partnerships for habitat restoration or creation; promote the preservation, restoration and re-creation of priority habitats, ecological networks and the protection and recovery of priority species populations, linked to national and local targets, and identify suitable indicators for monitoring biodiversity in the plan; The Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre (HBIC) provides comprehensive information relating to biodiversity in Hampshire, working in partnership with both data users and data providers for public benefit. HBIC is able to monitor changes in area of designated sites and habitats by district/borough/ unitary through the information it gathers and maintains on a Geographic Information System (GIS). HBIC can also provide information on species distribution and trends across Hampshire through the data it holds on behalf of its partner species recording groups and in consultation with them. This report continues, as in previous years, to provide baseline data to local authorities in order to monitor changes in priority habitats, designated sites and selected notable species. 1.2 Explanatory Notes 1.2.1 Mapping change in extent of priority habitat: The full extent of priority habitats in Hampshire is not fully known - and may never be fully known due to the dynamic state of our countryside and the difficulties of obtaining access to many areas. HBIC is working with its funding partners to improve information on Priority habitat extent and condition through the Hampshire Habitat Survey Programme and from other survey data that becomes available. This information is used by HBIC to maintain a GIS layer mapping the extent of broad and priority habitats in Hampshire. It continues to be the case that it is more likely that any future 'gain' in priority habitat is due to additional habitat being discovered or re-interpreted rather than any gain having come from habitat restoration or creation. And it is usually only within SINCs which has been recently re-surveyed that any losses due to development or agriculture can be logged and the reasons given. Sharing information about Hampshire's wildlife The Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre Partnership includes local authorities, government agencies, wildlife charities and biological recording groups. 3 1.2.2 Change in baseline figures for habitat data. HBIC, along with other biological records centres in the SE Region, have translated their habitat data into a classification system called IHS (Integrated Habitat System), funded by Natural England. It is not a straightforward 1:1 translation from the previous Phase 1 habitat categories into IHS and there will continue to be changes to the baseline which are solely due to the on-going re-interpretation of old survey data into IHS. More importantly, the Habitat GIS dataset has now been converted into the OS MasterMap framework resulting in an increase in number of polygons from c80,000 to over several million. This new dataset requires careful on-going validation and tidying up of what was essentially an automated process, and particularly if we add any additional datasets from other organisations This dataset is now being used for all HBIC’s work; for data requests, screening planning applications etc., and for the production of this monitoring report. For some Priority habitats there have been small changes in extent, mostly reductions as boundaries have been tightened and snapped to MasterMap, so removing fragments of highway, urban land, gardens etc. But for two habitats there were some significant changes in extent which are summarised below and have been referred to in previous monitoring reports Lowland Mixed Deciduous Woodland - decreased from 46,217 ha to 36,291ha, partly because 4,400ha were ‘converted to wood-pasture in the New Forest and because rows of trees and small 'clumps' (especially in urban situations) were been stripped out, and polygons were snapped to MasterMap boundaries rather than ‘canopy’. Any small clump which, when surveyed, is found to support a qualifying NVC type will be added back in. Similarly larger woodlands will be removed from the priority habitat type if, when surveyed, they do not support qualifying NVC types. Coastal salt marsh - all salt marsh data has been overwritten by EA data with a resulting 50% loss. Much of it had been re-interpreted as ‘intertidal mudflats’ and so the two figures should be treated together until such time as the data can be validated against the latest aerial photographs. It appears that the interpretation in the western Solent was accurate, and agreed with HBIC’s data whilst the eastern half was very patchy in its accuracy with perhaps lower salt marsh not being visible (i.e. below high water) . The checking/re-interpretation of the EA coastal data is being undertaken as and when time allows. 1.2 3. Revised UK List of Priority Habitats: In addition to changes caused by IHS a further 16 Priority habitats were added to the UK List (NERC S41 list). For Hampshire, this means including 'Traditional Orchards' and 'Open mosaic habitats on previously developed land', along with an expansion in scope and definition of 'Hedgerows', 'Ponds' and 'Rivers'. The definitions are still being refined for these habitats and a set of traditional orchard polygons created by the People's Trust for Endangered Species with funding from Natural England will need to be verified by HBIC before being added to the GIS dataset. Similarly for a reed bed dataset produced by the RSPB. 1.2.4 Mapping change in priority habitat extent due to development: As mentioned, it is difficult to identify changes in habitat extent or species status that have occurred solely due to the impact of development, particularly within a given year. A GIS layer of the boundaries of all completed planning permissions from the previous year would be needed, which would need to show the actual footprint of each development. Additional information would also be needed for each completed development Sharing information about Hampshire's wildlife The Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre Partnership includes local authorities, government agencies, wildlife charities and biological recording groups. 4 detailing impact of development, mitigation measures, or restoration/ re-creation opportunities in order to predict a net loss or gain in biodiversity. Meanwhile, the reasons for any changes in habitat extent observed from field survey are being logged but may often be due to development or some other land use change which has occurred since the last survey - which may be some 10-20 years ago. 1.2.5 Assessment